Missing memories
by Saina Tsukino
Summary: A man wakes up in a space capsule, alone with a robot that won't tell him a thing about his past because it could hurt him... Russia/Lithuania, mention of USUK and other pairings Chapter 8: More flashbacks and a mission. Al is stubburn
1. Chapter 1

They both collapsed on the bed together, heavily breathing and holding onto each other for dear life. Once more, they both fought to gain control of the heated kiss until they were out of breath. Alfred, sensing he would not win this time around, abandoned the other's lips in favour of his neck. Arthur couldn't help but snort as he felt the blonde's hands wandering down south.

"I thought you wanted to interrogate me?" he panted (he had intended it to sound mocking but Alfred had bitten on the soft flesh of his neck at the same moment so it came out rather breathless, with a sharp gasp at the end)

"Tomorrow" came the muffled reply.

He almost answered something, but the wandering hands found there goal and they didn't say a word for a while afterwards.

- - - - - -

Later that night, as Arthur was floating in the comfortable space between wake and sleep, he heard a distinctive 'click' that made in instantly look up, all sleepiness forgotten.

"What are you doing, you bloody git?" He yelled at the younger man towering above him. Alfred's sky blue eyes locked to his, sad and pained and full of emotions Arthur desperately wanted to ignore. He furiously pulled on the handcuff that now tied his wrist to the bedpost.

"Stop, you'll hurt yourself," Alfred pleaded.

"Then remove it!" he screamed.

"I can't." he murmured, looking away. "I'm sorry."

"Why? What is that for?"

He angrily tried to hit the man that was still straddling him with his one free hand, but he was firmly yet carefully pushed back down. Alfred surrounded him with his strong arms and refused to let go.

"So you never leave me again" was the soft answer, so quiet one might not have heard it. Arthur froze at the sheer despair in the tone, and then sadly buried his nose into the wheat-gold hair.

- - - - - -

Alfred woke up with a start as Lieutenant Matthew broke into his room.

"Captain! The _black unicorn _pirate space ship has freed itself from our nets and is now escaping! We need your orders! Shall we chase them?"

Alfred glanced at the empty handcuff still hanging on the bedpost and let out a string of curses.

- - - - - -

Captain Arthur watched the image of the royal guard ship he was escaping from with a mix of regret and anger. As the image on the screens got smaller and smaller, he closed his eyes and tried to ignore the burning in his eyes. He could do something later for his injured hand, but his injured heart would never heal.

"I'm sorry Alfred," he whispered to himself. "but I also need freedom."


	2. Chapter 2

June 11th, year 1051 of O.F, somewhere in space.

The young man lying on the bed stirred and slowly opened his eyes. As his vision cleared he realised he was under an unknown ceiling, and frowned.

"Where am I?" he wondered aloud.

Something moved next to him.

"You're awake" a soft voice stated.

He turned to see a boy standing next to his bed. The boy looked no more than eighteen, with short blonde hair and huge blue eyes. He also had metallic ears.

'Robot', he thought. 'An expensive model, too. The imitation of a human is so well done that the only giveaway is the ears. If I didn't know better, I'd even say that he looks relieved.'

After his analysis of the unknown robot, the man cleared his dry throat and asked him his name. The other looked at him with an expression of shock.

"Wha… What do you mean, Toris? I'm Raivis!"

"Toris?"

He frowned in confusion. Toris… That sounded familiar. Was it someone's name? Why did the robot call him that? His name was… His name was… He suddenly felt an horrible feeling clenching his guts, like the one you get when you're falling. He didn't remember his own name. Hell, he realised, he didn't remember anything at all!

He sat up so fast that he felt light-headed and darted looks around. He and the robot, Raivis, were in a spaceship's emergency capsule. The cabin was small and round, with the bed and a command board on the wall the only furniture. He was dressed in a green shirt and jeans, and he had a few bandages over his arms. Aside from that, nothing there gave him the slightest clue of what had happened.

He turned to Raivis again, who looked like he wanted to ask him 'are you alright' but didn't dare.

"I… I don't remember anything." He began, eyes wide and voice shaking. "Who am I?"

The robot stared at him with even wider eyes.

"You really don't remember anything, Toris? You mean like amnesia?"

He nodded. Raivis looked down pensively.

"I had heard it could happen to humans after a blow to the head, but I never thought…"

'Toris' raised a hand to his head and, sure enough, there was a bandage there. Had he hit his head? They were in an emergency capsule, the kind that was used in spaceships. Had an accident happened? Or… had the ship been attacked by space pirates? (A shiver ran down his spine at that thought, and he suddenly felt sad and lonely. Why? Had he encountered space pirates before? Who was he? He had to know.)

"Raivis, do you know who I am?"

The boy nodded, but otherwise remained silent. Toris thought he must have worded his question wrong, so he tried again.

"Please tell me everything you know about me."

Raivis stared at him with his bright blue eyes and Toris could only wonder in amazement at his ability to display emotions. 'He looks miserable', he thought, and it felt so _real_.

"I… I can't." The robot murmured.

Toris stared back at him in shock.

"You _can't_? Why not?"

Raivis only lowered his head. 'A robot must obey to three fundamental Laws' he mused (How did he know that? Why was his knowledge intact while he could not even remember his own name? Why could he remember the lessons, but not the teacher?) 'The Third Law says _a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law._'

"Would it hurt you?"

A shake of the head.

'The Second Law states that _a robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law._'

"Did someone tell you not to tell me?"

Another shake.

'The First Law says that _a robot may not hurt a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to get hurt._'

"Would it… would it hurt _me_?"

A pause, and then, slowly, Raivis nodded.

Toris felt a sinking feeling settle in his chest. Remembering his past could hurt him. What in the world had happened to him? _Who was he_? His silence must have been eloquent for Raivis suddenly started shaking.

"D… Did I hurt you by telling you that? Do I hurt you by not telling you? Should I have pretended I didn't know you?" he frantically asked, wide-eyed and hands raised to his face.

Toris knew (and once again he didn't know how, and it was so frustrating to know without knowing) that by even just thinking that he went against the Laws a robot could irremediably damage his positronic brain, so he promptly reassured the boy.

"No I'm… a little lost is all. You did not hurt me at all."

It was a lie of course. He felt empty and useless; forsaken and desperate. He didn't know who he was, or where he belonged; and chances were that he didn't 'belong' anywhere.

He closed his eyes shut, tired of this questioning. There was no point in dwelling in a past he didn't remember.

"How long have we been here, Raivis? In this capsule I mean."

"Two days"

Two days… Another bad news. If no one had found them in two days, then they would probably never get saved.

- - - - - -

Captain Alfred F. Jones was standing in one of the hallways of his glorious spaceship, the 'US Dream'. He was a Royal Space Guard, meaning he and his crew devoted their lives to fight for justice in the huge intergalactic space.

Some days were boring, like when they were just checking to see if merchant's ships were following the standard safety rules, and other days were awesome, like when they'd go into battles against the evil space pirates. Then he'd leave the commands of his ship to Matthew and he'd go out in his FTO and…

The face of a man with bushy eyebrows and stunning green eyes appeared in his mind, and suddenly fighting pirates didn't seem so great anymore. He sighed and looked up at the stars behind the glass. He was such a pathetic hero.

"Captain" a soft voice interrupted his thoughts. "We picked up a signal on the international distress channel."

He turned around and followed Kiku to the bridge.

"Is it from the missing ship?"

"We still don't know for sure. We think it might be from shelters. If that's the case, then it's likely that the ship got destroyed. Anyhow, we sent FTOs to retrieve them"

The rest of the walk was spent in contemplative silence. The 'missing ship' was the Oceanic 815, a civilian cruise ship that had sent a SOS a few days ago then went silent. The Us Dream had been sent to its last known location to retrieve it, but it wasn't there anymore. They had been searching it in the area ever since. If it had been destroyed… well, it explained its sudden disappearance, but it also raised questions, like who had done it and why. Pirates didn't usually destroy ships; they stole whatever could be stolen and left.

With these questions in mind, Alfred stepped into the bridge to supervise the operations.

- - - - - -

It seemed like Toris' luck hadn't entirely run out on him. Only a few hours after he had woken up, their escape pod got picked up by a mobile suit that brought them back to a Royal Space Guard ship. He stepped out of the capsule to find the ship's medical crew already tending to some other people, apparently also coming from pods which now lined the walls. A nurse popped up beside him and started leading him towards the medical staff that would check on his injuries. He asked her what was going on, but before she could answer they heard a loud voice calling 'Liet! Hey, Liet, over here!'


	3. Chapter 3

It seemed like Toris' luck hadn't entirely run out on him. Only a few hours after he had woken up, their escape pod got picked up by a mobile suit that brought them back to a Royal Space Guard ship.

He stepped out of the capsule to find the ship's medical crew already tending to some other people, apparently also coming from pods which now lined the walls.

A nurse popped up beside him and started leading him towards the medical staff that would check on his injuries. He asked her what was going on, but before she could answer they heard a loud voice calling 'Liet! Hey, Liet, over here!'

Toris turned towards the source of the sound to find a tall man with wheat-gold hair and shiny blue eyes under a pair of glasses coming his way while waving his arms. The man wore a uniform, and judging by it he guessed that he was probably a high-up. He was grinning madly while still gesticulating so Toris thought he must have seen someone he knew in the crowd.

He was about to turn around when Raivis, who had been following him silently until then, put his hand on his elbow.

"What?" He asked

At this moment, the military finally arrived in front of him and, much to his surprise pulled him in a bear hug.

"Liet!" he exclaimed when he released him, "Liet, it's been so long! So you were in that ship, weren't you? What a coincidence! Oh, and that must be your 'brother' Raivis you told me about, right?"

He stared at the widely grinning man, then at Raivis, then at the man again.

"Excuse me but, who are you?" he questioned.

He looked familiar, but Toris couldn't make any memory out of this fog in his mind. The grin faded immediately.

"Huh?"

"Toris has lost his memories" Raivis explained softly.

The officer looked back at him, a disbelieving look on his face.

"Are you serious? You honestly don't remember me?" He put an arm around Toris' shoulders. "In that case, my poor dear," he said in a mournful tone, "you _really_ are missing something."

The grin came back as quickly as it had vanished, and Toris thought that this man seemed like someone that just couldn't stay sad for a long period of time. The man pointed a thumb at himself.

"I'm Captain Alfred F. Jones, commander of the sixth division, elite FTO pilot and hero of the Royal Space Guards." He announced proudly. "Ring a bell?"

Toris shook his head, and Alfred made to give him a good slap on the back, hesitated, then settled for patting his shoulder. "Cheer up," he said, "It'll all come back eventually. I'll let Liechtenstein take care of you now, okay?"

He turned to the nice-looking nurse that had stayed at their side all along. "Make sure they get a nice room, 'kay?" She nodded. "Well, gotta go now, bye Liet!" And with a last wave, he left.

- - - - - -

After having been shown their room and getting a good meal, Toris left Raivis behind in the cabin, saying that he had to go to the restroom. In fact, he just wanted some time alone, to think.

He walked through a few corridors and ended up in a wide circular room, devoid of any furniture. He stood in the middle of it for a few moments, trying to guess what it was for. He closed his eyes and saw a brief image or the sky and stars; accompanied with a strong feeling he couldn't quite put a name on. It was merely a flash, the echo of a memory that eluded him, but at this moment he had the certitude that he had already came here. On a whim he searched the walls more thoroughly and found a small command board, almost invisible to the un-trained eyes.

He pushed a few buttons on instinct and then suddenly it was as if the walls, roof, and even floor had evaporated. And 360 degree image of space appeared all around him, and he felt like he was floating among the stars. It was breathtaking, yet it all soaked in an eerie feeling of deja-vu, like when you could swear that you already dreamed of all this. Maybe that's what his previous life had been: a dream. His heart felt heavy and light at the same time, in a strong sensation that left him dizzy.

Toris heard a few voices he could recognize outside of the room. He fumbled around for the door, and left the star filled room with the feeling that a part of him had stayed behind in there. He swore to himself that he'd come back to figure it out later.

The voices turned out to be from Captain Alfred and another crew member that were discussing a little way down the corridor. Toris made to go toward them, and then hesitated. They seemed to be having an important conversation and he didn't want to bother them. The man that was with the Captain was a little bit shorter than him, with short black hair. He looked worried as he spoke to the taller man, who answered with a frown. Their voices drifted towards him.

"…But what is he doing so far from his territory?" Alfred was asking.

"We still don't know but…" The shorter one trailed off.

"But..?"

The black-haired crewmember looked at the side, towards Toris, but said nothing. Alfred followed his gaze and jumped slightly upon seeing him.

"Liet! What are you doing here? Do you need something?" he asked.

"I… hum…" He fidgeted a little under the combine stare of the two military. "I was wondering if I could talk to you. But I understand you have work, and I can wait…"

"No, no it's fine! I was done anyway, right Kiku?" the blonde man cheerfully answered.

The other man tightened his lips but didn't comment, instead bowing and politely saying "I'll leave you two alone then, good evening." And with a last pointed stare at his Captain, he left.

Alfred turned towards him. "So, shall we go to my cabin? I have some pretty nice coffee there that I'd like you to taste!"

- - - - - -

"So," he said as he put the steaming mug in front of Toris on the small table in his cabin, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

He put his hands around the warm cup and sighed, "I'd like you to tell me everything you know about me."

Alfred raised his eyebrows. "Okay but… I'm sure Raivis knows more about you then me."

Toris stared at his reflection in the cup, at his auburn chin-length hair and his green eyes, and he vaguely noticed that he had had no idea of what his own face looked like before this very moment. He wondered if he could get a mirror, and what use it would all be in the end.

"Raivis won't tell me a thing." He said in a low, tired voice, and he suddenly felt like an old man although he was… Well, in his mind he was only a few hours old.

This time, the other's brows literally disappeared under his bangs. "Why not?"

"He says that it could hurt me."

There was silence, and then, "Yeah, I'll have to agree with the little guy on this.

His head jerked up. "Not you too!" he pleaded. "Please, Mister Jones, I _need _to know! Please don't do that to me!"

Alfred's look was dead serious as he looked at him. They stared at each other in the eyes for several long minutes before the Captain tiredly ran a hand through his hair.

"Look, even if I wanted to tell you about those painful things, I couldn't because I don't know them."

He stood up and walked to his window. He stared speaking with his back turned to Toris, and his voice was so calm and pained that, suddenly, he didn't seem the same man anymore. He sounded ten years older.

"When I met you, we were both trying to forget… things." He began. "Although I guess you managed that more efficiently than I did…" A sigh. "We were alike in so many ways, and we knew it, but we never talked about it. I didn't ask you, you didn't tell me, and it was the same the other way around. All I know about you is your name and your general background, and some other things I've guessed."

"Okay, so what _can _you tell me?"

He turned around with a soft smile.

"Want anymore coffee?"

- - - - - -

Toris came back late to his room to find a very worried Raivis. He reassured him and went to bed, mulling over what he had learned.

'My name is Toris. I come from the agricultural planet of Lantis, where I used to grow wheat with my best friend Felix. My brother is an eminent robot designer who created Raivis, and I assist him every time I can.' He turned over and brought the sheets closer to his chest. 'Why can't I remember any of this?'

That night, he fell asleep with hot tears burning his eyes.

- - - - - -

_The ship was shaking with every hit it took, the roofs threatening to fall on the two figures running in the hallway. One of them was faster on its metallic legs and managed to grab the other's arm before he reached the bridge._

"_Toris, stop!"_

"_Let me go, Raivis! I need to talk to him! I can make him stop this!"_

"_But you'll get hurt!"_

"_If I don't do this we'll all die!"_

"_But…!"_

"_Raivis, _think with your head_! Surely you can let me get hurt for the greater good of a large number of people!"_

_The robot started violently shaking, sign that a heaving dilemma concerning the Laws was going on in his positronic brain. The human used this opportunity to break free of his grasp and run the few last meters towards the bridge's doors, disregarding the 'crewmembers only' sign. As he touched the door, an explosion obliterated the wall right next to him. Everything went dark._


	4. Chapter 4

_The ship was shaking with every hit it took, the roofs threatening to fall on the two figures running in the hallway. One of them was faster on its metallic legs and managed to grab the other's arm before he reached the bridge._

"_Toris, stop!"_

"_Let me go, Raivis! I need to talk to him! I can make him stop this!"_

"_But you'll get hurt!"_

"_If I don't do this we'll all die!"_

"_But…!"_

"_Raivis, _think with your head_! Surely you can let me get hurt for the greater good of a large number of people!"_

_The robot started violently shaking, sign that a heavy dilemma concerning the Laws was going on in his positronic brain. The human used this opportunity to break free of his grasp and run the few last meters towards the bridge's doors, disregarding the 'crewmembers only' sign. As he touched the door, an explosion obliterated the wall right next to him. Everything went dark._

- - - - - -

"Iv…!" Toris gasped as he bolted to a sitting position in his bed, right hand raised in front of him as if trying to catch the shadows haunting his mind. He stared at the wall, heavily breathing, for several minutes, desperately trying to hold onto the rapidly dissipating fragments of his dream.

"When I woke up, whose name was I calling?" he wondered aloud.

He closed his eyes and brought his hands to his face, trying and almost failing to recall what was going on in the window of his soul before he had awakened.

"An explosion…" he mumbled, rubbing his temples. A ship falling apart. He was running and Raivis tried to stop him. He had had _something _that he needed to do. But what? Was this what had happened minutes before he lost his memories? Did he get knocked out, and did Raivis drag him to the shelter? He was trying to stop it, to save everyone. He…

"_I need to talk to him"_.

Realization dawned on him: he knew the person who had attacked them.

"Toris?"

He turned around sharply, eyes searching the pitch-black room for the owner of the voice. Two blues eyes were unnaturally glowing in the dark. Raivis.

"Ah, Raivis," he sighed. "I just had a bad dream. What can you tell me about how we got into that capsule?"

There was silence, and some shuffling in the dark. He sighed again.

"Okay, I get it, never mind." He mumbled.

Toris got up and put on the fresh clothes that nice girl, Liechtenstein, had provided him with. He was lifting his hand to the control board on the side of the door when a hand shot out from the shadows and grabbed his.

"Do you hate me?"

The hand was shaking slightly and Toris could make out huge, pleading eyes looking up at him.

_Strong hands that smelled Vodka pushed him against the wall, and intense violet eyes dived in his own wide green ones. "Do you hate me?" a mouth breathed, mere centimetres from his own. He gazed into purple pools of suffering and his heart beat painfully in his chest…_

Toris stumbled under the force of the flash. Confused feelings rushed to him, drowning him in a powerful whirlpool of bitterness and pain and the pressing urge to escape these purple eyes mixed with the need to embrace them. He couldn't put a face on these eyes, nor a name on that face; yet a single glimpse into the violet depths had convinced him to continue the search for his memories more thoroughly than anything else could have, no matter how painful it might be.

He blinked out of his trance to find that he was still in the dark room with Raivis looking anxiously up at him, and that not even a second had passed. Yet it seemed like the robot had grabbed his arm years ago, a lifetime ago.

He smiled sadly and kissed the persocom's hair.

"I don't hate you Raivis, you're just trying to protect me. I just feel… lonely and scared, I guess."

He then smiled a little more cheerfully and hoped that the robot could see it in the dark.

"I'm going to get a piece to eat now, okay? You can stay here if you want to."

"I want to… go with you." He said.

That meant that Toris would have to fake some more smiles, but it didn't bother him much. He was good at it. Besides, he was quite fond of the little robot, he reflected as they left the cabin. Well, Captain Jones _had _said that they were like brothers…

He wondered about his real brother, and about his childhood friend, and felt his heart sink a little more heavily in his chest when he realized that no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember them. It was as if… something was preventing him from remembering it all.

He entered the bustling cafeteria and collapsed on a bench, feeling the same overwhelming helplessness he had experienced when he had first found out about his amnesia. It was driving him crazy.

"Hum… a minute of silence, please? Everyone, please listen to me, I have something important to say!" a voice suddenly claimed from the other end of the room.

Toris looked up to see a man that looked quite a lot like the Captain, but with longer and curlier hair and a shy smile standing on top of a chair trying to get the refugees getting breakfast to calm down and listen to him.

"Okay, so," he began when (after a while) he finally got everybody's attention, "The ship just had new orders so I'm here to announce you all that we will port in the city of Guilledou on the planet of Huxley in about three days from now. There, everyone of you will be redirected to ships that will bring you back to your homes, okay?"

At this announcement, everyone began talking animatedly among themselves. The room was radiating relief an excitement.

"I'm so happy to finally go back home!" said someone, and Toris felt a painful sting in his chest. Home. Another meaningless word that brought no image in his mind.

"Hum, excuse me, Lithuania sir?"

He snapped out of his reveries to find the shy Alfred look-alike standing next to him and trying to get his attention. 'Lithuania'. That's right, it was his family name (Or so the Captain had said. It explained the 'Liet', somehow).

"Yes?"

"The Captain asked me to tell you that he'd like to speak to you. If you may follow me to his cabin…? Oh, the persocom is allowed to come, too."

Toris got up and followed the man out of the cafeteria. The military led him through the ship, pointing out features and rooms and explaining them. Toris thought that he was a nice person. He wondered if he should ask him about the 'star room', and if he'd answer.

Then a wild thought hit him. The Captain knew him. Did other member of the crew do, too? He recalled that look Kiku had sent him the night previous, and the wink (that made him pretty uncomfortable) that the French cook had addressed him while serving him his dinner during the evening. After his experience in the star room, he was pretty sure he had already been in that ship once before. It would only make sense for them to know him, wouldn't it? He wondered if Captain Jones had told them about his predicament. He hoped so. He didn't want them all to think that he was ignoring them on purpose.

"Lithuania sir?"

He was once again snapped out of his thoughts by the man.

"Y… yes?"

"We're here."

"Oh." He realised that they were, indeed, standing in front of the Captain office's door. The other man smiled kindly.

"I'm Lieutenant Matthews Jones, by the way." He said, holding out his hand.

"pleased to meet you, I'm Toris Lithuania and this is Raivis."

The man's friendly smile widened.

"If you need anything, my office is right over there." He said, pointing to the far end of the corridor. "I'm less busy then my brother, so don't hesitate to ask me, okay?"

He nodded, at a loss for words. Matthews smiled and turned to the door. Toris raised his hand, his heart beating heavily in his chest. What did Captain Jones want?

He knocked tentatively on the door, that automatically opened on one energetic Captain that bear hugged him (again) before dragging him into the room, smiling widely and blabbering about how lovely a day it was, with birds singing and sun shining (although they were in space).

Lieutenant Matthews rolled his eyes and followed them in, closing the door behind him.

- - - - - -

A/N: okay, so first of all, thanks to everyone who read this and reviewed so far. I'm supposed to be studying right now, but I cheated (again).

I dunno if I said this before, so I'll say it again: I own noting. APH is not mine. The story is inspired by great sci-fi, like Asimov's work in general (esp. the Three Laws), Storine (By F. D'Antony, a very nice guy btw), Captain Harlock, Gundam, Star Treck, etc.

Although Raivis is an Asimovian robot, he looks like a Chobit (in the manga of the same name, by CLAMP). The FTOs are Gundams (but the name in from MKR, by CLAMP).

I'm afraid I made Alfred a little too hyper in this chapter. Also, I tend to forget Raivis when I write. (write write write oh wait Raivis was present all along in the room? Oops lets just say he's very quiet). I didn't intend to bring in the 'purple eyed' character yet, but the angst scene with Raivis just sorta begged for it, so there.

Short chapter, long A/N: I'm so sorry for that. I need to study now… T.T


	5. Chapter 5

Toris sat awkwardly in front of his coffee mug, between a silent Raivis and a suspicious-looking alien. (The Captain had introduced it as Tony). On the other side of the table were seated the Lieutenant who was busy going through a pile of paper and the Captain, who was now happily devouring some sweets.

"Hum… Mister Jones?" he asked.

The Captain looked up at him.

"Yes?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "You… you wanted to speak to me sir?"

Alfred looked at him for a moment before seeming to remember the reason why he had had called him. His expression grew serious all of a sudden. He put down whatever brightly-coloured thing he had been chewing on and seemed to hesitate for an instant.

"Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you… hum…" he trailed off, exchanged a glance with the Lieutenant, then turned back to Toris with a bright grin on his face.

"When we'll arrive on Huxley, your brother Edouart will be waiting there for the two of you!" he announced in a cheerful voice. "We called him, and he was very relieved to know that you're well. The people over at Guilledou will also need his expertise for something or another, and I'll think he'll need Latvia's assistance, so you three will be staying at the base for a little while longer than the other passengers before heading back home. How does that sound, Liet?"

The Captain was still looking at him with that smile, but somehow Toris couldn't help but feel something was off. Even so, he was very eager to meet that 'brother' he didn't remember anything about and maybe finally learn something useful about his past, so he pushed his doubts at the back of his head and forced a smile.

"Sounds great!"

- - - - - -

Several hours later, Alfred was reflecting about what he had and had not told Toris while seating in his 'Captain chair' on the bridge. He was staring off into space, unaware of his crew who went about their regular jobs, when the beeping of the radar startled him out of his reveries. Kiku's voice followed soon after.

"Captain, we spotted a pirate ship."

He automatically straightened in his seat, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his guts. "Pirates? Who?"

He fixed his gaze on the black-haired man, who seemed reluctant to answer. "The _Black Unicorn_, sir."

Alfred closed his eyes and almost missed the soft question that came next. "Shall we attack them, sir?"

"No." he willed his voice to be steady while he gave his orders. He didn't want them to hear the weakness he was feeling. The weakness, the fear, the uncertainty… Whenever they met _that _crew, he never felt less like a hero, and he needed to desperately hang to whatever pride he had left. "Our orders are to get to Huxley ASAP. This has top priority. We will… have other occasions to go after them" His voice broke at the end and he quickly excused himself.

He didn't look back to see the pitying look his crewmembers were giving him. He didn't need to. This was sickening.

- - - - - -

Toris knocked softly on the Captain's cabin door, wondering if the man was even there.

He had told Raivis to wait for him back in their room, and invented some poor excuse (that he wanted to see a map of space to situate himself) to come and see the Captain.

Raivis had answered that he needn't bother the Captain for this and that he could ask the Lieutenant instead. Toris had then gone blank, frantically searching for something to say. The robot had seemed to understand what he was trying to do, for he had stated softly that 'there is no need to lie to me. If you want to see him, just say so.' He had felt ashamed, yet thankful at the same time.

He really was growing quite fond of that little android.

There was some shuffling on the other side and a choked 'who's there?'

"I-It's me, Toris, sir!" He stuttered. "I'm sorry to bother you! I just wanted to talk but I can come back some other time if it's inconvenient…"

He cut off when the door opened in front of him. Tony was standing in the doorway. With a scowl, 'it' made a gesture for him to come inside.

He timidly took a few steps into the room but stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted the Captain. He was sitting on his bed, hugging his knees, face shadowed by his bangs. Toris' heart clenched at how utterly miserable he looked.

"You can leave, Tony." The golden haired man mumbled.

The creature narrowed his eyes. Alfred looked sadly at it. His eyes were hollow, the usual bright blue now covered by pain. He looked like a haunted man, and every moment that passed made it harder to support for anyone who looked at his broken smile. One could only wonder what the hell had happened for him to be in this state.

"It's okay, Tony. If it's Liet, it's okay."

The alien finally gave in, leaving by some hidden door while muttering something about 'fucking space terrorist'. Alfred form curled up a little bit more and Toris suddenly couldn't take it anymore.

Without thinking, he went over and hugged him close to his chest. The other froze a little before slowly relaxing in his hold. The auburn haired man began to slowly rock them back and forth, threading comforting fingers through the blonde hair.

Only after a couple of seconds did Toris realize exactly was he was doing. Letting go of the captain, he quickly pulled back and began to frantically apologise.

"I-I'm so sorry Captain sir! I don't know what I was t-thinking! I-I just…"

A small chuckle interrupted his rant. Alfred was still sadly hunched over, but now a corner of his mouth was lifting and there was a glint in his eyes. "It's okay Toris. Your body remembers is all."

"Wha… What do you mean, sir?"

"We used to be comrades, I told you, didn't I? Two lost souls who held on to each other for comfort…"

He was wearing a strange smile, sad and wistful, with a faraway look in his face. Toris had to restrain the urge to hug his captain again. That left him wondering just how close exactly they had been. Friends or…? Alfred continued to speak; unaware of the turmoil he had cause in the other's emotions.

"I envy you, Toris. You were able to forget…" _Though not for long, _the spaceman silently added in his head.

The other kneeled next his bed and gazed at him worriedly.

"Sir, what happened?"

A sigh. "We crossed path with another space ship a few hours ago. Pirates. We did not even interact; just merely caught a glance of each other. Yet it was enough to let me in this state!" he pulled his arms away from his frame to indicate the wreck he currently was, and then laughed hollowly. "I'm so pathetic, aren't I Toris? He's a pirate! I shouldn't care for him!"

The blonde captain plunged his tormented gaze into Tori's own eyes before turning his face away. "Yet I can't… stop thinking about him… I'm such an idiot."

So the captain of the almighty _US Dream _was in love with a pirate. Somehow, for some reason, Toris could understand his suffering. He placed his hand on the other's arm.

"I don't think you are stupid," he whispered softly. "Just ill-fated. Whoever that person is, he must be more than a pirate. I don't imagine you'd give your heart to someone who didn't deserve it."

Alfred froze for a second to ponder his words, then gave him a truly grateful smile. "You are always so kind and understanding, Liet. Thank you."

A moment passed in comfortable silence, before Alfred broke it. He was leaning against the wall now, his shoulders less tensed and the colors returning to his face, like his pervious moment of weakness was over and forgotten.

"What was it you wanted to talk about, Liet?"

He froze for a moment, before remembering the reason he had come to the captain's cabin to begin with.

"Ah, well… I just had a feeling, during our meeting this morning, that there was more that you wanted to tell me… But I might be wrong."

The captain's face turned very serious. With a sigh, he got up from his bed and walked to the window.

"As expected of you, you noticed. Yes, there is something indeed that I need to tell you. But I couldn't tell you in front of Raivis."

He snapped his head up. Did this mean…

"The boy is trying to protect you, and I find that I can only agree with him. But I cannot protect you from this anymore. You see, when we will arrive at Guilledou, orders are for you to be taken in for questioning."

"Questionning? Why?"

"For what you know… or once knew."

The blue-eyed captain pulled away from the window and began to pace around the room.

"The ones who attacked the oceanic 815 flight were pirates from a ship known as the _Himawari. _It was an unusual target for them; they normally go after merchant ships. What's more, the attack took place outside of their usual zone of influence. And what is really confusing us is that the ship didn't detect their approach, nor could anyone pick up the emergency signals until a few days after the event took place. It's almost as if the pirates had a device of some sort that allowed them to jam the radars and radio for a certain amount of time.

"The reason my superiors want to question you," he continued, "is part because you survived this attack, and also because… it wasn't your first encounter with that ship."

"_I need to talk to him"_

'I knew it' Toris thought as he watched the captain carefully, holding his breath.

"The reason I'm telling you this, Toris" Alfred said, still turning his back to him, "is because if I don't they will. And with all the respect due to my superior, I'm not too fond of their interrogation methods. If you don't remember, well, they'll make you, and none too gently. So I figured, it's better if I tell you myself, right?"

He turned to look at him, a hesitant look in his endless blue eyes. The younger man gestured for him to continue. He suddenly realised that he couldn't speak. The excitation, and also fear, of finally knowing a little more about his past was tightening his throat in a way that made him wonder how he could even breathe at all.

The captain sighed.

"You know that your brother Edouart is a famous robotist, right? Well, a few years ago, the three of you got kidnapped and brought on board of the _Himawari_. Apparently the captain wanted to force brother to develop new technology for his ship and you and Raivis just got brought along as argument of negotiation."

Toris gasped. _Arguments of negotiations…? _That meant they had been threatened to force the engineer into submission.What kind of twisted man would abduct someone and use his own brothers to force him to work for him? A sudden vision flashed in front of his eyes, and Toris clutched his forehead. Those enthralling purple eyes again… So Edouart had been forced to develop technology for those terrorists… Wait… his head shot up.

"Wha… what kind of technology?"

The captain only looked at him with unfathomable eyes.

"You don't think… that this radar jamming device might have been my brother's work?"

"I don't know, Toris. But my superior sure does think so. They called him to Huxley for collaboration on the investigation, but chances are he'll be treated more as a suspect." He sat on the edge of the bed again. "Anyway, you and your brothers eventually tried an escape and this very ship rescued you."

"And that is how we met…" he murmured.

A smile broke unto the other's face and he nodded. "The great hero came to your rescue and brought you back home!"

Then he turned serious again. "I have no idea what they put you through in there Liet, and I'm not sure I'd want to know. But if my superiors think you might have learned something important and want to interrogate you about it, there's little I can do. But if they make you revive all this, and if the memories get too hard to bear, you know you can come to me anytime, right?"

He smiled and got to his feet. "I know. Thank you captain."

He left the cabin, his mind too full of thoughts and barely listening to the reply saying it was a hero's duty. He wandered along the corridors for a long amount of time, pondering what he had learned and what fate had in store for him. Held captive on a pirate ship… So those were the memories that Raivis had tried to hide from him?

_The glitter of something metallic piercing the air, and a sharp pain in his sides. Those ever present purple eyes never leaving him, making him feel like he couldn't look at anything else than them, ever. He was captured and trapped into a cage he would never escape from, even if he got physically light-years from here. The sharpened pipe came down on his flesh again, those eyes haunted with the light of insanity silently begging him to never try to leave that cage._

He wasn't sure he wanted to remember.

- - - - - - - - - - -

A/N: sorry for the long wait, I had an unexpected summer job that kept me very busy! Plus I had a rather bad author's block. But now I'm back and I bring a long chapter with me! I'm at cegep now so I don't know if I will find as much time to write as I did in Secondary school, but anyway. At least when there is school there is inspiration. SO! Expect Artie to come into the picture soon! Maybe not next chapter, but soon! Sorry for ooc America in this. And I have a plot this time. Or at least something that resembles a plot. Anyway, R&R!


	6. Chapter 6

Alfred walked aimlessly through the streets of the market, his unseeing gaze wandering nervously on the brightly colored stands. 'Man, this sucks', he thought, trying not to fidget.

For some reason, he wasn't allowed to watch the brother's 'interrogation'. That was unfair: not only were they his friends, but he was the one that was probably going to go after the _Himawari_. It would have been logical for him to be there; he _should_ have been there!

Of course, he knew that the reason he had not been allowed in had nothing to do with them trying to withhold information from him. They were probably thinking he'd question their methods and delay the whole thing with his incessant interruptions.

'They think I'm a prat.' A bitter smirk broke out on his face. 'They know me too well.'

But still, this sucked. Unable to stay put in his ship and _wait_, like the rest of his crew, he had gone outside to get some fresh artificial air. Besides, he had always liked walking alone.

He about decided he didn't fancy it so much anymore when two figures emerged from the shadows between two stands to flank his sides.

"I'll ask you to so kindly follow us, and don't make a fuss", one of the figures said.

There was a shuffle of clothes and then he felt something hard poking at his ribs.

"Yeah, I'd be un-awesome if we'd have to shoot you" added the other. "Iggy'd be _pissed_."

***

By the time they arrived at _Black Unicorn_, his two captors were so busy bickering that Alfred was left to vaguely wonder why he hadn't run away. But then, he was curious as to why Arthur would send two of his best men out to get him. Perhaps he finally was getting at him for all the times he tried to capture the pirate? The part of his mind that was military was screaming at him to just knock out his captors (or let them do it themselves) and get the hell out of there, but that other part of him he always tried to deny was eager to see the man again, consequences be damned.

***

"OH YEAH? WELL LIZZIE LOVES THE AWESOME ME MORE THAN SHE DOES YOU!!"

Alfred was deeply relieved when the doors to the captain's cabin opened and these two idiots finally shut up, settling for glaring at each other as they pushed him in. He sighed and rubbed his temples as the automatic doors slid shut behind him.

"Hello there, mate" a voice with a thick, enthralling British accent greeted him from somewhere on his right.

He looked up and felt his breath catch in his throat. The English pirate was sitting on his desk, smirking and every bit as attractive as he remembered him. He was wearing his usual long red coat with golden laces and embroideries and a feathered pirate hat. He was sitting leg crossed and back straight, holding a decorative sword with one hand and slipping the fingers of his other hand teasingly along the edge. There was something threatening to his posture, a hint of magnificence and arrogance and freedom that made him oddly desirable in ways that made the military's heart clench.

He cleared his throat, praying that his voice wouldn't betray him. "What do you want, _Captain Kirkland_?"

He was answered by the grin of the cat that cornered the canary. The fingers stilled on the edge of the sword.

"I have information for you, _Captain Jones._ Regarding the _Himawari. _You want it, don't you?"

He frowned. "Information? Where the catch?" He didn't trust anything coming from that damn pirate. The other was too cunning for his liking.

"A catch? Why should there be a catch?"

Now he didn't like this one bit. The innocent voice and slightly hurt expression, obviously fake, didn't bode well with him. He hated it when the pirate mocked him like that, especially not with that… that _gleam_ in his eyes.

"There's always a catch." He answered flatly.

Arthur laughed and put the sword aside, standing up. "You're right." He said, before walking towards him, the predatory look in his eyes now accentuated by his positively evil smirk. Alfred unwillingly took a step back, pressing his back to the now closed door.

"I have information for you," he repeated again, stepping closer and pressing himself against him. He then put his arms around his shoulders and leaned up to whisper "But there's a price, _Alfred._"

He gasped.

***

"Apparently the Kolkhoz has a good reason to be out of his territory" Arthur said conversationally.

He groaned an answer. Damn, how was he supposed to concentrate when they had just done _that_? And Arthur was so damn good at it too, that bastard! He focused on the other's bare back as he looked around to retrieve his clothes from wherever they ended up. And what a back that was! An alluring expense of smooth white skin followed by a nice ass and pale tights… wait, focus! He mentally slapped himself. The man was telling him important info, he didn't have time staring at the curves of his backside! Plus, he was a pirate. Alfred shouldn't have gotten involved with him in the first place! He averted his gaze and concentrated on the words.

"… didn't please the rest of us that he'd go and rampage through our zones. The sooner he goes down, the better." Arthur was saying. "My sources says that he got hired – hired! What sort of pirate gets hired! – to clean space of any tourists trying to approach Rosette…"

"Wait, what? Why? Who would hire him to do something like that?"

The older turned around, a serious expression on his face. "There's a rebellion going on there. It's turning into a full blown revolution, haven't you heard?"

"No," he frowned.

A sigh. "Figured. They're doing quite a good job at hiding it. There's been no media leak. Like hell the higher ups out there will let everyone know that the _scum_ is yearning for freedom. Plus, they wouldn't want to scare the visitors. No, you'd have to be a pirate to know." He smiled, although it looked more like a grimace. "Anyhow, the current situation there is that the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer, and the tourism does nothing to help. People go in clubs, enjoy themselves by the beach, while on the other side of the walls the population is dying in the ghettos. They're miserable and they blame the strangers for it."

Alfred's hero heart clenched at that terrible description of reality. That was exactly the kind of abuse he had joined the ranks to fight against! But a few years into the system had shown him the ugly truth about his job. More often than not, they weren't defending the widows and orphans; they were defending the people who had money and power. Some days, he just wanted to drop it all and become a firefighter instead. But then he remembered Toris and his family and he knew that people like them were the real reason he was fighting. There were still victims his job allowed him to help and he would be damned before he let them down!

He took a deep breath. "But this has been going on for ages. Why a rebellion now?"

Arthur shrugged. "I don't really know. Perhaps they found a leader…?"

He gasped. "Perhaps the same person who hired the _Himawari_!"

Arthur nodded.

A moment of silence passed, the only sound being the shuffle of Arthur's clothes as he got dressed. Suddenly, Alfred voiced a question that had been bothering him.

"Why did you give me this info?" _It's risky around military bases why did you follow my ship oh god you could have gotten hurt did you want to see me Arthur do you…_

The pirate posed midway through putting his coat on and shrugged. "What's the point of having information if I can't sell it? Besides…" He looked up through lidded eyes and licked his lips suggestively "I believe I got a fair price out of it."

A shiver ran up his spine and Alfred helplessly cursed the butterflies in his stomach.

***

Toris fidgeted nervously in his seat as two military with an apparently permanent frown on their face explained him how the questioning would unfold and his rights and whatnot. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Can't I meet my brother beforehand?" he timidly question.

One of the two men levelled him with a serious gaze. "I do not think you fully grasp the implications of the situation you are in, mister Lithuania. You, your brother and that robot are suspected of assisting one of the most rabid pirate out there. You are in no position to make demands." He said with a sense of finality, before going back to examining papers.

Toris would have pointed out that he had not made a demand, but merely asked a question, but he didn't think this would help his case so he stayed quiet.

Throughout the day he was asked many questions. When they finally got tired of his claims to be amnesiac, the officers brought him to a doctor to get his head examined. When the health professional confirmed it, they left to report it and get further orders. Tired to be manhandled, Toris collapsed on a bed in the nursery and fought to keep back his tears.

He wondered where the others were. His brother, the man that shared his blood yet that he could not remember the face of, was probably facing the same, if not worse, treatment. As for Raivis, he figured they were examining the full content of his data. Raivis was a special robot, created by his brother. A unique model that would surely spark the interest of the army. The thought of the little android being cut off to pieces to be analyzed was heartbreaking, and the young man muffled a sob in the pillow.

What had they done to deserve such treatment? They had been kidnapped and escaped. Is that a sin, to take part in events you have no control over?

***

After what felt like ages, the two men were back, looking down on him without a ounce of compassion.

"You'll have to go through a treatment to get your memories back." They announced.

***

A/N: And that's it folks! Next chapter: Liet gets his memories back! Stay tuned, cuz Russia is coming! Review, plz!

Also, for those of you who are wondering 'why Austria?', Well, in the manga Austria is referred to as an 'ex-noble' by france and seems to have some economy problems, so I went with it. Arthur's crew is a bunch of people who lost their names or who got destroyed by the system/got sick with it. They're rebels and seek freedom. Since Austria pretty much lost everything and Prussia isn't a country anymore, I thought it would fit.

IVAN IS COMING!!!

Everyone is supposed to have human names. However, I couldn't remember Toris' last name to save my life, and I had to explain the 'Liet' somehow. So I decided that his last name would be 'Lithuania'. He is the only one who has his country name as last name. I apologize for it. Anyway, in this earth is probably the 'earth nation' or 'earth alliance' or whatever, so there's no real country to speak of. Also, I used his last name in previous chapters and no one noticed. oh well. (besides, I looked it up and his real last name is very close to his country name)


	7. Chapter 7

Hiya everyone! This took me quite a little time, mostly because of school and also because I had few and far-between reviews on the next chapter, thus making me think that everyone had lost interest in this and making me lose interest too. So if you want this to continue, be sure to review this time!

- - - - - -

They shaved him. They said that the electrodes wouldn't stick to his skull if they didn't. He watched his brown locks fall to the ground in something akin to horror and nostalgia. He didn't even get to enjoy his haircut for a week and already they were cutting it off. He felt like the strands of hair were the first of a series of things in his life to fall apart.

They didn't even offer him a mirror to look into.

Four nurses in white led Toris to a room full of medical equipment. There was some sort of huge white cylinder, connected by several wires to the wall. He had seen such equipment before in hospitals. It resembled the one used for CAT-scans, only with a few modifications.

An entire side of the room seemed composed of one great mirror. He was no fool. He knew that a handful of doctors and officers were probably on the other side, watching and monitoring him.

He was requested to remove his shirt and lie down on the stretcher that would later be rolled into the machine. As soon as he was on his back the nurses started applying electrodes do his head. He shivered under the cold touch.

Toris closed his eyes briefly and thought about Captain Jones. Was he back on his ship? When would he be departing? Would they ever meet again? He had said that he would be waiting to hear about what had happened to him in the end, but who knew when an order would arrive for them to depart immediately? Duty came first, it always did.

He was pulled rather abruptly from his musing when he felt what the nurses did next. He snapped his eyes opened and tried to get up but found he couldn't.

"A… Are you tying me up?!"

The nurses looked up to him, four identical blank stares focusing on his face.

"We need to restrain you, sir. Some people are tempted to move during the retrieval of memories. It messes up the process."

With a final tug on his bonds, she added "don't worry; this will not be painful to your body."

Somehow this was not comforting at all.

They tugged on his bonds one last time and, finally, they pushed the stretcher into the insides of the scanner. Toris heard the door close, leaving him all alone, tied up in this dark, enclosed space. He tried not to panic. He closed his eyes hard and tried to imagine that he was somewhere else.

Suddenly there was a BUZZ and he needn't imagine anymore.

- - - - - -

He was running in a golden field that seemed to stretch on forever. The sky was blue and cloud-less. Hands grabbed him from behind and covered his eyes.

"Guess who?"

He laughed and tried to pry the hands off him.

"Feliks! Stop it!"

He heard a tense gasp and the hands withdrew. The air suddenly seemed a few degrees colder. He turned around to see what got to his friend when he saw it. A giant spaceship was slowly drifting east, eclipsing the sun. A smaller vessel came out of it and headed towards his home further away.

"Another customer for Edouart," he said.

"I'm not sure. Like, it has a pirate flag drawn on it."

He took a closer look. Indeed, the unmistakable skull was there, with the crossed femurs and… a sunflower? His eyes widened. I couldn't be the _Himawari _he had heard of, could it?

Far away, the vessel landed in front of his house. He couldn't see from that distance, but an overwhelming feeling of dread took over his senses and he made a mad dash for his home.

"Toris, wait!"

- - - - - -

"Brothers!"

He threw the door open to find his brother Edouart sitting face to him at the table, in front of a strange man. He was back to the door. All Toris could see of him was that he was very tall, almost as much as Raivis even thought he was sitting. He was wearing a long beige trench coat, along with a pale scarf. That struck him as odd: who would wear such winter clothes under the hot sun of Lantis?

His brother looked more serious than he ever saw him. Neither man has reacted to his arrival, both of them engaged in what seemed like a staring contest. Toris made his way to Raivis, who was standing in the doorway to the back store and looking at them with as much worry as his circuits would allow him to express.

Before he could ask the tiny robot what was going on, Edouart suddenly slammed his hands onto the table.

"Close this shop if you want to, but no matter how much you threaten us I will never assist you, mister Braginsky!" he snapped with a harsh tone.

The man looked up at him and smiled. Nothing was wrong with that smile, but what would have been a comforting gesture looked far too creepy and intimidating on that man.

"Is that your final word?" he inquired with a strong accent Toris couldn't place.

Smile intact, he swept his gaze over the room's occupants. When he met those baby-like violet eyes, a violent shiver cursed through Toris' body. That gaze held so much cruelty and despair it was unbearable.

Edouart kept firm ground. "Yes, that is my final word."

The smile, if possible, got wider and creepier. "Very well then"

He got up and looked at the door.

"Nathalia!"

Moments later they met the scarier woman they had ever met. They were then taken, bloody and beaten, on board of the _Himawari__._

- - - - - -

A knife under his throat. Cold hands restraining him.

"You will work on that machine, da?"

His brother lowered his head and got to work.

- - - - - -

He and Edouart were huddled in a corner, Yvan walking menacingly towards them. He had a water faucet in hand, his favourite weapon, and a crazy gleam in his eyes. They had learned the hard way never to anger him, especially not in those days when he seemed to be looking for blood more than usual. It was just their luck that the program Edouart was working on, with less equipment than what he really needed, chose that day to crash.

"You told me this would work!" He raged, raising his pipe.

Toris hid his head in his arms, preparing for the oncoming blow.

What he heard instead what a sound of metal hitting metal. He looked up to see that Raivis had jumped in front of the pipe.

"Raiviiiis!" screamed Edouart. He threw himself next to his creation to assess the damage. The little one was now sprawled on the ground, his arm twisted at an odd angle and eyes closed. His system had probably shut down from the shock.

He blanched. If Yvan could twist the metal arm of a robot like this, than he could only imagine the force of his blows. Toris was frozen on the spot. He couldn't take his eyes off their captor. The man should have been angered beyond belief at missing his target, like he got when anyone tried to stop or dodge his blows. Yet, this time, he seemed genuinely curious. His baby-face was back, and he had his pipe lowered next to his body, forgotten.

"Why did he take the hit?"

Edouart looked up from his inspection. "You don't know? That's because of the three laws!" When all he received was a blank stare, he readjusted his glasses and started explaining. How he could be so calm in such situations, Toris would never know. He kind of envied him this ability.

Yvan looked entranced, then excited by the explanations.

"This is so fun! Make me one like that!"

The robot designer put on a face that clearly said "oh no, not another thing to do!" but fortunately the terrible pirate captain didn't notice. He grabbed the little robot that was still out and shoved it in a closet. He turned around with a bright smile.

"Little robots have no flesh, so they're no fun to hit, da?"

- - - - - -

The time when things really changed for Toris was on the occasion of another one of those beatings. He was alone, that time. Yvan had once again locked Raivis in a closet so that he wouldn't interfere, but this time the android was conscious. He could be heard banging on the other side of the door.

"Please sir, let him out!" he begged.

He watched the pipe spin in the air, gleaming in the neon light. The other didn't answer, just smiled at him that frosted smile of his. The banging intensified.

"I beg of you, sir! If you don't let him out, he'll damage his positronic brain! It would near impossible to repair him!"

The pipe halted its movement. "ha?"

"If he knows someone is out there getting hurt and he can't help that person, to him it'll be like he's disobeying to the first law! He'll go crazy, fry his own brain!"

Yvan leaned closer, so close that their noses were almost touching. "You also want me to let him out so he can protect you, da?"

For the first time ever since that day back on Lantis, he mustered the courage to look at him in the eyes. "I don't care. I can heal." He said. Yvan cocked his head to the side, seemingly puzzled by his answer. "But…" he took a deep breath. "But if Raivis fries his brain, it's over! Edouart will never get over it!"

Whatever reaction he expected from his captor, it was certainly not laughter.

"You are really funny, comrade! You'd suffer for the sake of a robot?"

He frowned. "He's family."

The tall man just turned around and walked to the closet door. He turned around slightly, hand on the control board. His face was partly hidden in the shadow of his bangs and scarf.

"Then I'll need to show you. Everyone isn't nice like that."

He scanned his hand and the door opened, revealing a frantic and shaking Raivis that ran straight to him. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he could see a sad smile on Yvan's face before he left the room.

- - - - - -

After that day, the Captain allowed him to leave the lab he had originally locked them in. He made Toris do all sort of jobs in his ship, like every other member of his – terrifying – crew. Sometimes he'd just call for him to talk or beat him up, depending on his mood. Toris sort of wished his status aboard had never changed at all.

- - - - - -

A colourful explosion. A merchant ship wrecked and left for the authorities to find. Were they any survivors? He hoped there was.

"It's beautiful, da?" The voice of his Captain coming from his right startled him. (When had he gone from captor to Captain? Toris would often lie in bed, wondering how the hell that had happened. But at least, sometimes, he was allowed to see his brothers, working in the lab still.)

He removed his hand from the window and looked away.

"Why did you have to trash their vessel?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. 'shit' he thought, and tensed his muscles for what he knew was coming. Yvan smiled creepily at him.

"What do you mean, comrade?"

"Ah, no, nothing! I'm sorry sir!"

Yvan put a heavy hand on his shoulder. "No, keep talking."

He shivered and shut his eyes tightly. "You could have just ordered your soldiers to take the money and leave. There was no need for all this destruction."

The hand left his shoulder, but no hit came. After a few minutes he risked an eye in his Captain's direction. He was looking through the window, a far away look on his face. Then he shook his head.

"Tsk tsk. You do not understand how the world works. Do you know who they were?"

He hesitated. The menacing aura was gone, replaced by one of… weariness? But he still didn't trust the pirate not to hit him.

"They were merchants?"

"They were filthy dogs of the capitalism, that's what they were!" he snapped, making Toris jump at least a mile in the air. He started angrily pacing around the room.

"Just by doing their business they serve the rich and take from the poor, making them poorer and poorer! Small children works in terrible conditions, in the frosted land of some remote planet, to produce goods for mindless consumption! Then those rich bastards are going to ruin their own planet and move somewhere else, where they will kick the native out of their homes and force them to work for them, underpaid and underage!"

"Yes, I agree that this needs to stop, but was it reason enough to kill them?" he shouldn't have questioned his captor's doing, but he the curiosity was too much to resist. He needed to understand.

Yvan stopped pacing and looked at him with wide, innocent eyes. "They're not dead."

"They're not?" he looked around and looked at the ship again. It looked pretty wrecked. The other man walked to his side.

"I am afraid Nathalia obeyed my orders with a little too much enthusiasm. The plan was not to kill them, and that is why we did not make their ship explode. We merely destroyed the commands and life-support system. They have limited air and food now. We wanted to make them suffer."

"Why?"

"Because we want them to understand, and humans cannot understand the suffering of others unless they experience it themselves."

"That's not true!" he shouldn't have expressed his opinion like that, he knew, but what the other was saying sounded so _wrong_ that he just had to say something, anything. "It is possible to understand others! No everyone is selfish and unfeeling! Causing pain will only make matters worse!"

Violet eyes flashed his way, in all their intimidating glory.

"And how do you know?"

He had an answer for that. There was surely an answer. There had to be. But under the weight of that stare, he could only splutter incoherently. Yvan smiled sadly and looked outside again.

"When two people have success together, do they share it? Seldom. Most people try to take all glory for themselves and the both of them end up hating each other. They try to be best. To go the farthest, to be strongest, to climb the highest! They compete, they envy, they hate each other, and devour one another!" He nearly yelled the last part, his voice taking on a high pitch and his eyes wild.

And then he changed his attitude drastically, becoming calm in an instant. "But when two people suffer or experience failure together, they become close. Friends. They help each other out, and then they say that they made it out, together. In a plane about to crash, when there is fear and tears, there are also messages of love. That is because experiencing suffering makes people good, while success usually causes hatred and makes people bad."

"B…But causing pain to other will cause hatred as well! It will make them hate you!"

"Yes, hatred comes first. But then, you get wise. You accept it, you understand it. And it brings you peace. Isn't it normal to want to share that peace?"

Those eyes were still looking at him, drilling into the deepest corners of his soul. It felt like he was being taken over by that gaze, full of suffering and pain but not an ounce of hatred. In then he saw a burning desire to be understood. And Toris stood there and let himself be taken away. He was his captor, in more ways than one.

"This is crazy" he argued still, weakly.

"Human kind is crazy, but we can save them. They just need to understand the pain they cause each other. But like I said, they need to experience it, first. They won't understand any other way. Everyone is equal, but people cannot see that. Only in pain they realise that they are all human beings, and that there are no such things as race or nobility and such. When they all see this, we will all become one! But we need to make this happen, da? "

"And how do you know?"

"Because I am the product of all this! That's how I know! They made me what I am, and I saw that it could not go on!"

- - - - - -

The highest level of consciousness brought by pain: insanity. Or peace, like Yvan had called it. He most certainly had it.

And now he was trying to have Toris have it too. But little did he know that his pipe did less to accomplish this goal than his eyes did.

He had understood, from Yvan's speech, that all that violence was just a misplaced effort to be understood. That he was suffering, himself, and wanted to share it. To not be alone in his insanity.

But when he had met with Edouart and Raivis and told then those conclusions, the former had just scolded at him and the later had almost fried his circuits over it. It was so deeply against the laws that he could not even consider it.

Edouart quickly took Raivis away to do damage-control.

"Let me tell you about Stockholm syndrome one of these days" he said before leaving.

The worst was that Toris knew his brother was right. But he still couldn't stop from wanting to help their Captain.

- - - - - -

To be continued. Now hit the review button plz!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: aaaaw I'm sorry this is so short and took such a long time! I'm starting on the next chapter right now! And thanks a lot for all those who reviewed. You made my days! Let's do it again, y/y?

* * *

After his impromptu visit on board of the _Black Unicorn_, Captain Alfred F. Jones went straight to the base. It was already the night, the twin suns of Huxley slowly setting over the horizon. He wondered nervously if Liet's interrogation was going well, if they forced him to remember and what impact it would have on him.

Despite their friendship, Liet had never uttered a word to him of what had happened to him back on that dreadful ship, but his silent language had been enough to show that it had indeed marked him deeply. He had also heard his brothers talk about how he had been changed by the experience. He idly wondered how he had been before. Probably not as serious and grim.

He arrived in front of the large, imposing white building and strode inside, quickly flashing his insignia at the guards at the entrance. He rounded the corner and stopped at the main desk.

"I'd like to see Toris Lithuania." He asked in a strong voice to the lady sitting there. She looked up at him over the rim of her glasses.

"Name and rank." She spoke with a flat, dead, dry voice that was a bit screechy at the end. The kind of voice you'd expect of an old librarian with a stick in her ass, not a young lady in the twenties. Oh, well. Military had that effect of people.

He showed her his insignia. "Captain Alfred F. Jones, commander of the sixth division" he told her proudly with a wink.

She wasn't impressed. "No one is allowed to see Lithuania. He's in interrogation as we speak." She told him curtly and pushed the insignia back towards him.

"Ok, then I'll just wait here for when they'll be done."

"I said, no one is allowed to see him. Before, during, and after interrogation," she clarified briskly.

That's what he had feared. Now that they had him and his brother, they'd manage to make them say exactly what they wanted and then they'll lock them up. They needed a culprit and he had given then just that, on a silver platter at that! Alfred clenched his fist.

"All right then. But I'll stay here anyway."

She actually lost her professional look a split second, taken aback. "why?"

"So that when one of your bosses comes around, I can ask them entrance personally," he said, moving to sit in one of the chair in what was supposed to be a waiting room.

They would not let him see him, fine. But they could not throw him out as long as he was bothering no one. As a silent protest, and also a desperate hope that perhaps they wouldn't decide to be asses for one time and let him see his friend, he'd stay there as long as it took to get a reaction out of them. Besides, he had thinking to do.

- - - - - -

_Eventually Edouart did finish the machines Yvan wanted. He even made him a robot, Katiouch__a, which he took extra time in making. He made it with all of his talent, and it was a very beautiful thing. _

_However, they all doubted she'd last very long. It was, after all, nearly impossible to make a robot without the three laws carved in their brains, for every single positronic brain to be manufactured had it pre-programmed in them. Even the brains that Yvan's trusted first-mate had provided them with, no doubt taken from a black market of some sort, had them. _

_So it was fated, in their mind at least, that the poor thing would fry and shut down after only a small amount of time on board of the pirate ship. Raivis himself was barely able to function, even with all of Edouart's expertise behind him to repair him and keep him going._

_But they suspected that repairing her when the time came would not be reason enough for the pirate to keep them all on board. So that's why Edouart took as much time as he could building the machines, and he also prepared an escape plan meanwhile, for when the time came that the captain would get tired of feeding two additional mouths._

_And one day that a military ship was in the area and that the Himawari was successfully using the stealth device he had created (It had been named the Comrad Matvey by the captain, for some reason) to go by unnoticed, Edouart told Toris about his plan._

- - - - - -

A few hours had passed and Alfred was now dozing off in his uncomfortable seat. Many officers had passed by, each becoming more and more exasperated as his presence. He knew they probably all considered him a brat. But that didn't really matter. He was being too efficient at his job for them to get rid of him. He had put more space pirates in jail than any other before him, after all. The only two ships that resisted him were… well, those two headaches.

Eventually one of his higher bosses walked by and stopped in front on him. By reflex, he stood and saluted.

"Captain Jones," he began, "may I know what you're doing here?"

He opened his mouth to answer but the other cut him. "I mean, I know the reason why you're here. What I want to know is: don't you have somewhere else to be? I don't recall your ship being on permission, Mister Jones. And of course, you'd never ignore your orders to do something so trivial as to visit a criminal, am I right?"

He grid his teeth at the 'criminal' part, but otherwise forced himself to remain calm and professional. "Of course not, sir. My crew and I received the order to stay here and make sure that everyone of the rescued civilian boarded their flight and left for their homes safely and properly."

He narrowed his eyes. "Shouldn't you be taking care of that, then?"

"That's what I'm doing, sir. Until further notification, mister Lithuania was part of these civilians. The official notice stated that he would be questioned, and then returned home. I am simply here to make sure everything is done accordingly." He said, trying to keep any smugness out of his voice. He had marked a point, but he didn't want the other man thinking he was making fun of him.

Apparently it failed. "Mister Lithuania's is a special case." he began, obviously trying to keep the anger out of his voice, "When the last of these people's flights leaves ?"

"In three days, sir."

"…I see." The officer turned around and left, apparently very frustrated. Alfred fell down into his seat with a sigh and ran his hand through his hair. Now what?

* * *

A little after one in the morning, regional time, the blonde captain was awaken at the sound of hurried whisper not far from him.

"Are you sure you want to give this particular mission to this particular man, sir? He's a bit nosy." A woman's voice was saying.

"A bit ? He's worse than my wife ! But we need someone on this, and I'd rather if he'd leave my sight. Besides, if he has to stick his nose somewhere, I would rather like that he does it over there than here." A man's voice answered.

Suddenly there were footsteps and someone was shaking him. He groggily opened his eyes, as if he hadn't heard everything that had been said just now. A tall woman was standing in front of him, her male companion a little bit further away. No doubt the owners of the voices. He stood up and did a sort of sleepy military salute.

"Ah, Mister Jones. Your ship just received an urgent order. This has priority over everything else your crew and yourself are currently engaged in. I recommend going back to your ship this instant to see these orders," the man told him. Alfred opened his mouth to answer, but the man cut him. "I said, this is first priority." The captain snapped his mouth shut.

As much as he was pissed, he actually expected they'd pull something like that. So he grid his teeth and left the base. What else was he to do? Orders came first. He'd just have to make sure to leave someone behind to keep an eye on Liet.

* * *

"_Are you crazy Edouart? We'll never make it out of here alive!" was Toris' first reaction after his brother told him what he had planned to do._

"_Everything is planned out Toris. It can't go wrong." The other assured him. "Now that I've hacked it, I have access to all of the electronic system from here. I can create a disturbance while we make our escape!"_

_He was speaking fast while putting his equipment in a bag, like he already knew that Toris would agree to his plan. The brunette was watching him, fidgeting uneasily._

"_But they'll notice that we're gone eventually! We can't out-run them, especially in a shuttle!"_

_Edouart turned around, the light from the neon overhead reflecting on his glasses. "We won't need to run forever!" he exclaimed triumphantly, pointing to the window. Toris followed his gaze and gaped._

"_You don't mean…"_

"_We'll board that military ship!"_

* * *

"A snowstorm?"

Alfred Jones was now looking over Kiku's shoulder at their newest order displayed on the bridge's main screen. It was… strange, to say the least.

"Yes, sir. Apparently there was a problem of some sort in the weather controllers covering most of the small planet 200-A26. They started to spurt snow and now the entire place is covered by nearly two meter of it." The small Japanese man explained, knowing well that his captain never bothered to read the small lines of the orders.

"Can't they make the sun shine and melt it? Why do they even need our help?"

"The controllers are completely messed up now. It will take months to repair them. They have no other choice but to clear it off the traditional way, with shovels. The local militia now has too much on their hands and requested the help of the space guards to get rid of that snow." Kiku explained. "but why they'd ask a combat ship like ourselves…" the man muttered, stroking his chin.

Alfred suspected that the base had picked the first mission that they could get their hands on to get rid of them, but to pass that as first priority was perhaps a bit exaggerated. Besides, why on earth would be worried about him being 'nosey' on a snow shovelling mission?

He stared at the screen again. There was something fishy with that. Controllers did not suddenly break and pour down meters of snow! Besides, why were there even weather controllers on a planet? These things were usually used on space stations, overly-polluted or unfriendly lands, and on… huge tourism attractions.

He frowned. "Kiku, what did you say was the name of that planet again?"

"200-A26, captain. It's the third planet revolving the Assariz star, named 'Rosette' in earth languages."

'Rosette, huh? Well that ought to be interesting.' He thought.


End file.
